SANTO ANTONIO, Portugal, March 4-- China suffered their second consecutive loss at the Algarve Cup women's soccer invitational tournament after falling to Denmark 1-0 through a spot kick here on Monday. Danish skipper Pernille Harder converted a penalty around the hour mark, while Chinese footballers saw two efforts denied by woodwork. China sit bottom in group C with two losses in as many games. "We were a bit impatient in dealing with the ball, and squandered chances in front of goal," said Chinese starting center half Li Jiayue. China coach Jia Xiuquan made five changes to the starting line-up, seeing a regular composition in attack with Wang Shuang and Wang Shanshan up in front. Bi Xiaolin replaced Wang Shimeng as the starting goalie. Harder sent a left-flank cross after breaking into China's defensive line in the 11th minute, before Emilie Henriksen saw her shot at the back post just wide. Harder's Chinese counterpart Zhang Rui almost broke the deadlock 10 minutes later, but her left-footed curling shot only bounced off the post. Wang Shuang, currently playing for French club Paris Saint-Germain, sped past Danish goalkeeper Line Johansen in the 34th minute, but failed to connect teammates on position to slot home. Danish striker Amalie Thestrup saw her shot wide in the 40th minute. Two minutes later, Wang had another strike blocked by Johansen before the first half ended in a stalement. |